1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to systems for representing differentiated products or services in a built-to-order system or an overall customized service package, respectively, by human readable numbers comprised of human readable symbols.
2. Related Art
A customized built-to-order system or an overall customized service package may allow a customer to select from a large number of possible permutations of options of differentiated products or services. It is difficult to represent the specific combination of selected options in a manageable format other than providing all of the selected options in a list. Due to the number of differentiated products or services and the number options available for each product or service, the list of all the selected options may be very long.
In the alternative, a xe2x80x9cserial numberxe2x80x9d may be assigned to each possible permutation of the selected options in the built-to-order system or the customized service package. Generally, there is no correlation between the serial number and the specific combination of the selected differentiated products or services, other than their assignment to each other on a look-up table. When new products or services or new options become available, new serial numbers for all the new possible permutations of the built-to-order system or the customized service package must be generated again.
Furthermore, these serial numbers themselves may be quite long, often times lengthy and confusing. These serial numbers typically are comprised of a series of numbers and letters having no relation to each other. Confusing serial numbers may lead to an incorrect assembly of the selected options of the built-to-order system or having the wrong services performed for the customized service package.
Consequently, this leads to the storage and maintenance of large quantities of data over time. On the other hand, to look up the part number for a given combination of options could require a lengthy search of all the records for a given model. The turnaround time for returning results for lengthy searches may become unacceptable, especially when multiple users utilize the system concurrently, as is typically the case when using the Internet.
An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to improve the efficiency in the ordering, manufacturing, and tracking of built-to-order systems.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide improved service in a customized service system offering a variety of choices of services as part of an overall customized service package.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a unique and reversible human readable part number representing a specific combination of selected options in differentiated products in built-to-order systems.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a human readable part number that is preferably manageable in the representation of all the possible permutations of the options available in the built-to-order system.
Still another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a human readable part number that is preferably readily identifiable with selected options of differentiated components for a product that is offered by the built-to-order system.
Furthermore, an object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a human readable part number that preferably maintains its uniqueness and reversibility when the number of options are increased, or when new differentiated products are added.
Briefly, an embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for generating human readable symbols representative of a customer order, including first representing an option selected from at least one option associated with differentiated products or services with a binary bit field value. The selected groups of the binary bit field values are combined into a string of bits in an ordered sequence. The string of bits are then partitioned into fixed length partitions. Finally, each of the fixed length partitions are represented by a human readable symbol.
All of the human readable symbols may be read together in sequence to produce the human readable number. The human readable number includes all of the information required to express all of the selected options of differentiated products in the built-to-order system or differentiated services in an overall customized service package. Therefore, with knowledge of the options and format of the human readable numbers, one can uniquely determine the selected options.
Embodiments of the present invention produce a unique and reversible human readable number that represents the selected options in differentiated products in built-to-order systems or differentiated services in an overall customized service package. The format of the human readable number and the known available options determine all of the selected options in differentiated products or services.
Improved efficiency in the ordering, manufacturing, and tracking of built-to-order systems is achieved because the human readable part number is unique to each permutation of the options of the built-to-order system. Once all of the options are selected, the customer may receive a human readable part number that is unique to the selections made. The human readable part number can then be used to confirm the proper assembly of all the options selected for the built-to-order system, as well as track the built-to-order system along its assembly and shipment.
Embodiments of the present invention may also be applied to improve overall service of a service system providing a variety of choices that may be performed. In an overall customized service package, such as a car wash, the customer may be presented with a variety of different services, each with several options. Similar to the built-to-order system, the customer can choose the desired options of the different services offered, and a human readable number may be given to the customer. The human readable number is also obtained by the service providers to help ensure that the correct service options are performed.
Similar to that of the built-to-order computer system, the human readable number alone may be used to determine all the selected options in the differentiated services in the overall customized service package.